The Judgment of Paris Forum - View Single Post - Mothers want curvier celebrities

There was an interesting response to this survey in another British newspaper. This article is problematic, and reveals the schizophrenic attitude that many women feel today about body image: partly realizing that they're being brainwashed, while partly still BEING brainwashed.

But the writer did make some interesting comments, such as:

"I try on a daily basis to instil in my daughters that whatever their shape or weight, they should always strive to feel good about themselves.

As a teenager, along with most of my peer group, I ate like a sparrow, because to be super thin was to be super pretty, clever, popular and nice.

Then I got a boyfriend who, on grabbing me around the waist one day, visibly recoiled at having felt more bone than flesh. His timely revulsion promptly gave me back my appetite..."

It wasn't her softness, but her thinness that turned him off. How few women realize this simple fact- that not the minority, but the majority of men find softer, fuller figures attractive (even though the media attempts to cast this natural preference as something unnatural).

The writer then also asks a rhetorical question, and one of her answers is pretty significant:

"So who is to blame for the production of this generation of girls weighed down with the burden of self-loathing?...

It seems to me that food is increasingly being portrayed as the enemy. And what about the mothers who make scathing comments about some passing teenager who flashes, without shame, a less-than-taut midriff in the name of fashion?"

Bingo. Too many women reproduce the anti-plus prejudice that's been drilled into them, even on sites that are supposed to be serving the curvy community. This kind of negativity has to be stamped out, for society to finally change.

Oh, and the writer makes this VERY important point:

"In our house, all talk of diets is banned."

That's exactly what's needed. No more mixed messages, just 100% body love. Eat whatever you want, and as much as you want. Dress to look curvier, not to diminish your shape. And there is NO such thing as a "fashion faux-pas" when it comes to curves, because ALL curves are beautiful.

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/te...in_page_id=1879

but it's not consistently positive. Not until we get to the point where women believe that we are beautiful because we are full-figured, not despite this fact (and pass this freedom along to our daughters) will things finally change.

30th March 2006	#2
Kaitlynn Senior Member Join Date: July 2005 Posts: 618	Re: Mothers want curvier celebrities There was an interesting response to this survey in another British newspaper. This article is problematic, and reveals the schizophrenic attitude that many women feel today about body image: partly realizing that they're being brainwashed, while partly still BEING brainwashed. But the writer did make some interesting comments, such as: "I try on a daily basis to instil in my daughters that whatever their shape or weight, they should always strive to feel good about themselves. As a teenager, along with most of my peer group, I ate like a sparrow, because to be super thin was to be super pretty, clever, popular and nice. Then I got a boyfriend who, on grabbing me around the waist one day, visibly recoiled at having felt more bone than flesh. His timely revulsion promptly gave me back my appetite..." It wasn't her softness, but her thinness that turned him off. How few women realize this simple fact- that not the minority, but the majority of men find softer, fuller figures attractive (even though the media attempts to cast this natural preference as something unnatural). The writer then also asks a rhetorical question, and one of her answers is pretty significant: "So who is to blame for the production of this generation of girls weighed down with the burden of self-loathing?... It seems to me that food is increasingly being portrayed as the enemy. And what about the mothers who make scathing comments about some passing teenager who flashes, without shame, a less-than-taut midriff in the name of fashion?" Bingo. Too many women reproduce the anti-plus prejudice that's been drilled into them, even on sites that are supposed to be serving the curvy community. This kind of negativity has to be stamped out, for society to finally change. Oh, and the writer makes this VERY important point: "In our house, all talk of diets is banned." That's exactly what's needed. No more mixed messages, just 100% body love. Eat whatever you want, and as much as you want. Dress to look curvier, not to diminish your shape. And there is NO such thing as a "fashion faux-pas" when it comes to curves, because ALL curves are beautiful. The rest of the article is here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/te...in_page_id=1879 but it's not consistently positive. Not until we get to the point where women believe that we are beautiful because we are full-figured, not despite this fact (and pass this freedom along to our daughters) will things finally change.